A Man Worthy of Our Hope

A Man Worthy of Our Hope
1 Peter 1:3-5
Christ’s resurrection is not open for theological debate. There are many people who think it’s sufficient to believe that Jesus lived and died. However, the Savior’s restoration to life is central to what He claimed about His identity and to Christianity as a faith. Picking up on our question from yesterday’s devotion, we must ask what kind of man is this who rose from the dead?
The answer is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose again because death had no power over Him. The resurrection validated Jesus’ whole ministry. All along, He said and did things to reveal Himself as Lord. When the Lamb of God—the perfect sacrifice for sin—conquered death, He confirmed His identity. Who but the Creator could return Himself to life?
We could also answer the question by saying that the kind of man who returns from the dead is one worthy of our hope. Since Jesus Christ affirmed God’s power to give His followers eternal life, their earthly existence is not marching toward an end; rather, it is the opening chapter of a beautiful and infinite relationship with God. Paul said that at death, Christians are absent from their bodies and present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). So the best is yet to come!
Apart from Jesus’ resurrection, there is no hope. Those who chase after their own versions of immortality have no assurance of life after death, because there is none. Yet believers face death with the confidence
that nothing can separate them from the love of God. Death is just a short trip home.